John and Dorothy Kresge owned a farm situated in Carbon County’s fertile Mahoning Valley, just five miles west of Lehighton. The couple had embarked on canning some of the farm’s excessive vegetable bounty and realized a window of opportunity to sell their products to the local markets. Their farm kitchen had been converted into a petite manufacturing plant, producing WOS WIT Chow-Chow and Corn Relish. With these popular products on the market, the Kresge’s soon outgrew this type of operation. They decided to build a cannery on their farm to process the increasing demand of their products.
In a short time they were selling all of the Chow-Chow, Corn Relish, Dressings, Preserves and other garden vegetables that were processed. It didn’t take long for families who lived in Philadelphia, New York and Surrounding towns and cities to begin demanding this Pennsylvania Dutch Food.
Years have gone by, but the thriving demand for this Pennsylvania Dutch product did not die out. John Kresge had passed away in 1981 and left the business to his widow and six of his long time Pennsylvania Dutch employees in hopes they would endure his heartfelt tradition of satisfying his consumers. In 1983, the ladies had decided to sell the “WOS WIT” business. Paul Zukovich, a long time farmer, had stepped in the right place at the right time. Paul was driving past the Kresge farm and stopped in to inquire about a piece of farm equipment, but instead he ended up purchasing the “WOS WIT” business.
Plenty of hard work and dedication had led Paul into a successful operation and the small family owned business began to take leaps and bounds. In 1988, Paul had moved the canning facility to a 28,000 square foot processing plant on his 80-acre farm, Grouse Hunt Farms Inc., located five miles north of the town of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.
Today, the company, still family owned and operated, prides themselves in using the freshest and most natural ingredients straight from the farms, orchards and vineyards. Keeping the rich and fruitful history alive, the Zukovich family continues to use the original recipes. They ship nationally everyday providing their consumers with eighty-two varieties of Pennsylvania Dutch Foods.